Ancient Romans used to say: "Mens sana in corpore sano", which means "A healthy mind in a healthy body" and now this proverb looks more true than ever. Indeed, it is so important always to stay healthy in this modern world and this is almost impossible without high-quality medical care.
In some countries of the world, health care remains free, in some, patients have to pay separately for each service, and elsewhere, all the treatment is covered by medical insurance. Marina, a businesswoman and video blogger from California, decided to find out how much her family has to pay for insurance and how it differs from other countries.
More info: TikTok
California blogger estimates US health care pricing based on her family insurance bills
Image credits: linguamarina
Marina lives with her husband and two children, and she delivered a baby quite recently. Her TikTok video became viral with almost 980k views and nearly 30k likes. The woman says that as a small business owner in California, she chose the Blue Shield of California because of its wide coverage as literally almost every hospital participates in the program.
So, according to the plan chosen by Marina, she does not need approval to see a specialist and she pays around $10 out of pocket for a visit. The woman also shared that she previously paid a bit over $2,000 for a natural delivery.
Image credits: linguamarina
Mom also describes her regular pediatrician visit
Thus, the family pays $787 for an adult and $520 for a baby, but insurance does not cover dental services. In total, a family of four comes out to $2,614 per month. As an example, the TikToker described a regular pediatrician visit.
So, after registration, you need to wait before you are invited to see the doctor. It took 15 minutes pre-pandemic, and now the waiting takes from one to five minutes. It is interesting, by the way, that there is a common waiting area both for adults and even for newborns.
Image credits: linguamarina
Image credits: linguamarina
Due to the insurance coverage, which amounts to $2,614, Marina didn’t have to pay anything for a visit
The nurse takes all necessary measurements and then you have to wait for the doctor - this lasts from five minutes to half an hour. Marina really likes her doctor as she always gives useful advice and really cares about her daughter's well-being.
According to the bill, the total cost of this visit amounted to $1,319, an insurance discount was $67, and the insurance paid $1,251. So Marina didn't have to pay anything. Speaking of the baby insurance, it costs about $550 per month.
Marina also asked her subscribers from different countries how much they pay for medical services, and the answers varied widely. For example, users from Greece, the UK and Norway noted they've got free health care, but in Costa Rica, for example, you have to pay about 9% of your salary per month.
In Germany, the cost of medical care also depends on one's salary level - for instance, one of the users paid around 380 euro last month. Nevertheless, it's absolutely free to deliver a baby in Germany.
Marina is interested in how much people from other countries pay for medical care
People from all around the world reveal their health care expenses
In the Netherlands, it takes about 300 euro per month for a couple and this also includes dental coverage. Medical care for children under eighteen is also free in this country. Everything comes out almost free for one of the Lithuanian users, as the employer pays €50 per month for every employee's health insurance.
In Denmark, health care is free too, although taxes take about 50%, but in Mexico or Barcelona, Spain, regular medical expenses are equivalent to about $50 a month.
By the way, we previously wrote that Reddit users often named medical care and drugs among the things whose high price tags don't make sense at all. So how are things going in your country? We'd definitely love hearing your stories.